Disclaimer - DNF due to narration

I'm sure there is an undemanding, entertaining story in here somewhere, but sadly after restarting it three times I had to return it due to an issue with the narration.

It started out well enough as a genre novel with an interesting set up and premise, and having listened to several books narrated by Luke Daniels before (and having listened to some of the sample for this book) I anticipated a well read fun LitRPG adventure.

Unfortunately a few hours in it turned out that Luke has chosen an 'interesting' accent for one of the groups (think Irish mixed with The Muppets Swedish Chef with a sprinkling of West Indian around the edges) and despite my best efforts I simply could not bear to listen through it any further. I really did try, but for me it was there with nails on a blackboard on the list of annoying sounds!

It is hard to give a fair score as I have not finished the book but in regard to the story I did find my attention starting to wander (even before the accent appeared) so feel that it might have been losing a little momentum after a promising start.

As with all audiobooks your mileage may vary as listening to narrators is very subjective. Others may have no problem with the choice of voices but sadly for me it was a deal breaker on this one.

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Brilliantly story and great characters

Absolutely loved this book; It brought with it the style that I've come to love from Luke's other books but with something slightly mischievous and light running throughout. I think it has to be the main character, who has a refreshingly relatable chaotic streak 😈

I've not (yet!) read any of G.D. Penman's other novels but after reading this book I sure AF will be!

Luke Daniels bringing these characters to life was a real treat too, and one that has me torn now that I've just seen the second book is now out on Kindle!! do I wait or do I plough on?! the dilemma is real! Especially because I know I'll be heading Luke's character voices in my head when I read it 🙉 is that copying infringement?...it feels like theft regardless! 😳

I digress, back to the point, go listen to this book already!!

The magic & divinity systems in the book are really interesting, and I love the there is magic play but it's not the focus of the main character for a change; alone that would kind of suck, but there is a really fascinating balance struck with the divinity system allowing for our lovable barbarian type (don't want to try spelling his name after only having heard it 😅) to simultaneously focus heavily on physicality while also being able to do some really cool shit in and out of combat.

The out of combat utility really reminds me of of the elements that I adored in a Ascend Online, and I'm really excited to see where it's taken

Having the the magic not be the focus of the main character, rather him playing witness to its effects more often than not, allows for quite an interesting soft magic system that still feels quite solid especially with the LitRPG style stats

The source of the 'problems' underground was predictable, but in the most deliciously satisfying way, where in the lead up I had a couple theories that snapped into place before hand and I found myself eagerly anticipating as much hunch was borne out

The fight scenes are engaging, with some interesting encounters, and the rate of progression is both satisfying fast and with enough room for growth that it doesn't out pace the story.

The limitations on artifice, both in terms of maintaining physical control of the body, and in what can't be manipulated, make for a cool story telling tool too, as it's not hard to make them unable to solve all the problems the characters face, while allowing for fast traversal of otherwise tedious obstacles. It lets the challenges maintain a sense of scale while still being achievable to these new low level characters

Overall I highly recommend this series to both existing LitRPG fans and new readers alike, it makes for a very accessible, highly entertaining read with moments of both harrowing darkness, laugh out loud dialogue

Thank you both Luke Chmilenko & G.D. Penman for bringing this into the world, it was a much needed escape from reality and I look forward to diving back into your world with the next volume!

Thank you Luke Daniels for giving life to these characters and making them feel so real, it's been a pleasure listening to you do your thing yet again!

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Loved it

Loved it all, on to the next, Hope to listen to more after the second one

amazing worth it and more

not alone with this amazing person reading it out but as well with the funny interactions with the party as well as the carefree kind of feel they give off and amazing input from all party members makes it feel like it's own kind of D&D party and I love it. the funny interactions between mercy and main character have to be some of the best parts.
this book easily makes it to my number one favourite on this app so far

Amazing!

Loved the characters and the story too! Many funny moments and amazingly read by like as always

Original and Fun story with light LitRPG elements

I was pleasantly surprised by this audiobook.

The main characters self-narrative really makes this story. It is a good balance of funny, honest and cheeky.

Together with good, non-standard worldbuilding makes this one of the best 'light'-LitRPG stories I've read.

Its is equal to Shirtaloons "He who fights monsters" series in my opinion.

Daniels' audio performance is also amazing.

The only very slight irk I have with the story is that because the perspective is fixed with the main character, the motivation of some of the tertiary characters actions can be hard to understand.

Still well worth a listen for fantasy fans who enjoy a little less serious fare.

At the time of writing this, there are two books in the series, but it could end with these and already be one of my favorite series.

Hilarious

This is one of the funniest and best books I've ever listened to. I seriously cannot wait until the next book is available. Honestly if you like comedy, action and camaraderie I recommend you try this.

pushed my pillars!

awesome faun experience. aleron Kong has been knocked off his Godfather podium nice and cleanly.
not that I feel he deserved that title in the first place

Disappointing

The book starts by using satire to make fun of litrpg clichés before following those clichés to the letter. The humour is basically making fun of litrpg or just commenting on what ever stupid aspect of the world the author created specifically for that purpose.

The main charector is stupid he let's someone try to kill him three times then gives them invaluable information about there powers because mc doesn't want to hurt the person trying to murder him. Sigh

Even the way the mc dies initially is almost comically pathetic, i dont care about the loser who only has a spine when it's plot convient.

As for the other charectors they are basically just there to talk to the mc and talk about him and how stupid he is which is supposed to be funny but just comes of as stupid writing.